empowerment initiative

vic-lau.hk

 

General terms and conditions of service        (effective 7 May 2018)

 

A.  INCORPORATION & ENFORCEABILITY

The issue of a specifically-addressed invoice for service rendered by and under the trade name of the “EMPOWERMENT INITIATIVE”, “STICKMAN’S COLOURING BOOK”, “VIC-LAU.HK” and/or “VICTOR LAU” (hereinafter collectively referred to as “We”, and “our”, “ours”  and “us” should be construed accordingly) constitutes a conclusive evidence of the acknowledgement, understanding, acceptance and agreement to be bound from all of the parties so addressed as the service recipient(s) (hereinafter referred to as “You”, and “your” and “yours” should be construed accordingly) of each of the following  general terms and conditions of service (hereinafter referred to as “this T&C”) incorporated, by reference or otherwise, into as part and parcel of any legally enforceable service agreement between you and us.  We provide our products and services subject to this T&C, and any revisions or subsequent provisions superseding this T&C that we shall bring to your notice on our website or via a specific email to you from time to time as they become relevant and effective to you.  We reserve the right to change any of the terms and conditions set out in this T&C any time. Your continued access or reliance of our service products after any such changes are posted will constitute your acceptance of the changes.  You are requested to read this T&C carefully as they contain vital information about your legal rights, remedies and obligations, and the various limitations and exclusions of our liability arising from or incidental to our provision of products and services to you.  Headings and titles hereunder are included for the ease of reference but do not form part of this T&C or the agreement between us.

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B.  CAPACITY OF PARTIES

1.  We are a sole proprietorship business providing research, analytical, strategy, automation and communications products and services with social impact registered with the relevant taxation authorities under the laws of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.  The aforementioned business names are owned by us, protected by the governing copyright and trademark law, and must not be used, copied, reproduced, or stored without our permission.

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2.  You are representing that you are of legal age and capacity to enter into a binding agreement with us and your procurement and use of our products and services is neither intended nor contributory to furthering any attempt of contravening any laws or regulations.  You also agree that the legal agreement of which this T&C form part and parcel will be deemed to satisfy any requirement under applicable law that an agreement between you and us be in writing; and you are deemed to have given a valid authenticated signature for purposes of any applicable law requiring that the legal agreement between you and us be signed by you in writing.  If you are using the Service on behalf of a company, organization, or other kind of entity, you represent to us that you have the authority to bind such entity to this T&C as an agent of its behalf.  Any purported assignment or delegation by you without the proper prior written consent from us will be null and void. 

 

3.  We are your independent contractor and, except to the extent specified in the applicable terms and conditions, you may not control or direct the details and means by which we perform our duties under the legal agreement of which this T&C form part.  No relationship of employer and employee, a partnership or a joint venture is created between you and us, and neither of us shall be deemed an agent of the other on account of the said agreement or the performance of any of their obligations hereunder. We do not have any authority to bind you to any agreement or contract unless otherwise granted by you.

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C.  CONFIDENTIAL & PERSONAL INFORMATION

1.   Unless the context otherwise requires, we are committed to ensuring that our products and services are provided to you in confidence.  We actively procure the undertaking from our employees, service providers, sub-contractors and other related parties connected with our products and services to comply with at all times the necessary confidentiality obligations.  We ensure your ideas and documents provided to us in the course of our service are given maximum protection to ensure no compromise of integrity.

 

2.   We shall in particular keep all work and products and services carried out hereunder for you and all your trade secrets, data and other proprietary information, including all information gathered or becoming known to us arising out or in connection with the products and services performed under this T&C entirely confidential; and not use, publish, or make known, without your written approval, any of the aforementioned information or any other information we developed or you furnished to any persons other you’re your and our personnel. However, the foregoing obligations of confidentiality, secrecy and nonuse do not apply to any information that was in our possession prior to commencement of products and services to which this T&C relate, or which is available to the public in a printed publication and provided further that the foregoing obligation in no way limits our internal use of any such work.

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3.  You have the right to omit any information you think are personal, commercially sensitive or otherwise needed to be kept secure.  In such instances, you should redact or retain such information from being entered into the materials provided to us, and for re-entry into the final service product yourself.  Except for the specifically identified service product(s), you are not permitted to use any ancillary information or other data derived from our products and services for any other purpose such as for solicitation, advertising, marketing, unsolicited e-mails or spamming, harassment, invasion of privacy, or otherwise objectionable conduct.

 

4.  Both you and us may receive information from and related to one another that is not known to the public, and the originating party should be responsible to classify such information as appropriate so as to indicate the extent of protection its recipient is expected to afford.  You agree that all information classified as confidential should remain the originator’s exclusive property, and the recipient of such information will only use it as is necessary for the due delivery of our products and services, and will not otherwise disclose such information to any other person. Unless you have received our express written permission, you may not issue any press release related to the procurement of our products and services, or the terms governing our provision of service including but not limited to this T&C.

 

5.  We care deeply about privacy. We believe in transparency and commit to being upfront about our privacy practices, including how we treat your personal information.  We comply with the relevant personal data privacy laws of Hong Kong by ensuring all personal information that may come to our notice and custody will be processed fairly and lawfully in line with the data privacy principles, and kept only for the period it will be used.  You should take note that the privacy laws and standards in certain countries, including the rights of authorities to access your personal information, may differ from those that apply in the country in which you reside. We will transfer personal data only to these state authorities to which we are permitted by law to transfer personal information, and we will take steps to ensure that your personal information continues to enjoy appropriate protections.  We rely on several legitimate interests in using and sharing your personal information.  These interests include improving and customizing our products and services for our service sector, understanding how our products and services are being used, exploring and unlocking ways to develop and grow our business, obtaining insights into usage patterns of our products and services, ensuring the safety and security of our products and services, and enhancing our members’ protection against spam, harassment, IP infringement, crime and security risks of all kind.

 

6.  We agree to use our best endeavours to handle those personal information submitted to us, both during transmission and after receipt, in strictest confidence by generally-accepted secure methods of data protection; and will never sell or disclose them to any external party for any matter not mentioned in our relevant Privacy Policy statements or otherwise unrelated to our provision of products and services without your consent.  You do note however that no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure of which we cannot guarantee its absolute security.  It is important that you specify clearly and fully finance any special storage or protection method that you consider it necessary for your personal information requires before our acceptance of your request for service, and protect against unauthorised access to your information by attaching a robust password to the digital files containing your personal information and keeping them secure. 

 

D.  CONTENT OF REQUEST

1,  We reserve the right to refuse or terminate any service request that is suspected to:

(a)  contain plagiarized materials. Plagiarism and breach of copyright are serious offences and we do not condone or harbor such acts;

(b)  contain virus or other malware in any document you provided us. We reserve the right to refuse to offer its products and services or open the problem document.  A refund less any administration costs will be refunded if payment has already been received.

(c)  potentially incite violence, hatred, or discrimination of any form; or otherwise contain any defamatory, unlawful, obscene, libellous material that may breach any law; or

(d)  contravene any professional, domestic, national, and international laws, standards, and regulations.

 

The salient specifications of the products and services requested from us are set out in the invoice to which such products and services relate. You should give us timely and written directions, instructions, decisions and information sufficient to define and facilitate our due delivery of the products and services or any variation thereof by obtaining all approvals, authorities, licences and permits that are required from governmental, municipal or other responsible authorities for the lawful implementation and completion of the products and services requested unless otherwise specifically excepted.

 

2.  You are also obliged to answer queries made by us relating to your requirements in connection with the products and services requested as soon as practicable or within the timeframe that we nominated; and provide us with all such information that is reasonably necessary to enable us to comply with our obligations.  You should not cause any interference with our performance of the products and services; and give us prompt written notice should you become aware of any matter which may change the scope or program of the products and services requested.

 

3.  Opinions and views expressed in the course of specifying and producing the service product are those of individual clients and we shall not be held liable for the use of such information contained in your documents.

 

4.  We reserve the right to terminate all the production of products and services or contractual obligations with any client that breaches our terms and conditions including but not limited to this T&C ; and to refuse to offer or cancel any accepted service requests without notice or explanation.

 

E.  SERVICE QUALITY

1.  We aim to provide complete satisfaction to all our clients by providing products and services of the highest possible standard. All documents are written with great care and in-depth research. However, we do not guarantee error free service.  We shall use our best efforts to complete the products and services requests in accordance with the latest service requests as far as within our control; exercise the degree of skill, care and diligence normally exercised by members of the relevant profession performing products and services of a similar nature and in accordance with the code of ethics of the institution body which governs the profession; remain fully accountable for all products and services we provided irrespective of any review or acceptance by you of those products and services.  You also take notice of the fact that we produce the service product such as any reports and/or recommendations specifically per the specifications and any other supplementary or superseding variations or additions mutually agreed on the premises that it be solely used by you.  We undertake no duty to nor accepts any responsibility to any third party who may rely upon the content of such service product.

 

2.  You must ensure all information sent to us is accurate to your satisfaction. All personal details, references, sequence of dates should be cross-checked for accuracy before sent to us. We will not be held responsible for any legal liability or other problems that may develop due to inaccurate information.  Like all clients, you are responsible for reviewing the accuracy of each of the service deliverables we produced per your service request.  Where there are errors or omission of information, it is your responsibility to contact us; and we shall correct any errors within the document as agreed on the first quote with no additional charge.  In cases where additional information is provided, we reserve the right to provide a new price invoice for you. We shall make no refunds of the part of the cost of products and services already performed if your package does not meet the expected requirement. 

 

3.  Once the project is signed off as complete any further editing or changes becomes your responsibility as the client. Where our professional standards are in no way compromised, we may edit or change information as you requested but at a cost. We reserve the right to refuse to edit or change any document, once you have signed it off.

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F.   PAYMENT

1.  We will begin work as soon as the stated initial payment terms are fulfilled by the receipt of your cleared payment.  For longer-term service project, milestones of specified percentages of the total fees will be stated in the invoice.  We do not accept cash payments in any circumstances.  The acceptable modes of payments are usually stated in the invoice. By sending payment to us, the client accepts the particulars set out in the invoice and this T&C. Cancellations are allowed within 24 hours of payment received, a refund will be due less any administrative costs incurred by us.  You are responsible for any subscription or maintenance fees that might become due from the procurement of external or technical products and services, hosting of any web or digital solutions, advertising, and any other incidental costs either on an actual cost reimbursement basis or an advance escrow basis.

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2.  If payment is not made by the respective due date(s), we shall be entitled (without prejudice to any other right or remedy available to us) to charge interest on the outstanding amount for the period beginning on the due date and ending on the date that the amount is paid in full or properly credited. The amount of interest payable shall be computed using an annual rate equal to two percent above the at a compound rate of 0.05% per day.  Failure to comply with payment in accordance with the terms set out in the invoice may invalidate any warranty we hitherto undertook.  If any part of any invoice is disputed, the amount not under question shall be paid promptly in accordance with the appropriate payment terms and the grounds for dispute should be set out in writing to us within seven days from the due date. 

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3.  We will not be held liable for the deceptive use of any form of payment as consideration in return for our products and services.

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G.  SHIPPING & RETURN

1.  We get orders out fast – usually within 24 hours upon completion or stocking of the product or service devlierable; fulfill purchases 7 days a week except announced vacations; do not try to make money off shipping as we take pride in the worth of quality of our products and services; and always open to discussion on a timeframe that would satisfy you and a quantity that would attract greater discount any time before our invoice is issued.

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2.  We ship internationally at our clients’ request upon levying a shipping surcharge, the amount of which is subject to the expediency and geographical distance of shipping, general seasonality of worldwide logistics services, the gross weight of items to be shipped, any designation of courier, duties and taxes of the importing country, the extent of extra administrative efforts required from us etc., on top of the marked price of our products and services.  Unless otherwise mutually agreed, we generally employ logistics and postal services from FedEx, HKPost and SF Express.  You are fully responsible for any consequential loss, damage, delay, penalty or other costs of delivery due to the provision of wrong or inaccurate shipping address, or the failed collection of the delivery at the specified location and timing by the intended recipients.  While we shall endeavor to assist you in tracking the delivery with the courier, we do not entertain any requests for reorder, re-delivery, refund or return for any of the aforesaid reasons.

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3.  Except for production faults that render the product or deliverable totally unmerchantable at the time of leaving our hands, we do not accept return or exchange of any bespoke or customized product reasonably made in accordance with your prior instruction for any reason.  We also do not automatically support re-production or exchanges of bespoke or customized product even upon your payment afresh, as our production team may be subject to different workload and circumstances then.

 

4.  For generic product or deliverable, we accept returns, in its entirety as how it was sent and packaged that should ensure its safe return, within 30 days of delivery in exchange of non-encashable credits for purchase of our products and services equivalent to an appropriate amount up to the price of such product or service you have already paid.  As long as the returned item remains saleable, you are not obliged, though welcomed, to give a reason for return.  Return shipping costs and any restocking costs required to repair obvious signs of use of the returned item will be charged against the aforesaid purchase credits to be provided to you in exchange of the return.  Late returns will not be entertained.  You are required to contact us at the earliest opportunity to coordinate the return and ascertain the return address; whereas we shall notify you of the amount of credits you are entitled to after inspecting the condition of the returned item.

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H.  LIMITATIONS & INDEMNIFICATION

1.  Except for breach of confidentiality obligations, your indemnification obligations and our wilful misconduct or gross negligence, neither party will be liable for indirect, punitive, special, incidental, exemplary or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of thisT&Cs, however it arises, whether for breach or in tort, including but not limited to loss of profits, data or business interruption, even if that party has been advised of the possibility of such damage.  We are not liable for any loss incurred due to the information contained in any service product produced on your behalf. These include loss of revenue, sales, contracts, or business. We shall not be held responsible for any secondary, significant indirect or penal damages incurred by clients. We are exempted from any claim based on information contained in our website or other marketing materials.  You assume all responsibility for any problems, errors, and issues, as well as legal liability resulting from an incorrect statement of work.

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2.  In no event shall our total cumulative liability arising under each invoice and the applicable terms and conditions, whether such theory of liability is based in contract, tort or otherwise, exceed the total amount of the payments paid and payable by you in the preceding twelve (12) months prior to the date the liability first arose.

 

3.  You expressly agree that in no event shall we be liable to you or any third party for any direct or indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages resulting from the use or the inability to use our products and services, or for the cost of procurement of substitute goods and products and services, or for said damages resulting from any goods or products and services purchased or obtained, or messages received or transactions entered into through us, including but not limited to, damages for loss of profits, use, or data, or any other intangible losses, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages. 

 

4.  You also agree not to hold us liable for any claim including costs for the service of a solicitor or any third party that may arise due to the use of our products and services. This also applies to any violation of this T&C by any other client of yours.

 

5.  You agree that use of our products and services and the content of our website or other marketing materials is at your sole risk. Both you and us, your and our affiliates nor any of their respective employees, agents, third party content providers or licensors, or any of their officers, directors, employees or agents, warrant that the use of our service product or any part thereof will be uninterrupted or error free. Nor do they make any warranties regarding whether our products and services meet your requirements or as to the accuracy, reliability, or content of any information obtained from the site.  Our products and services are provided on an "as is" and an "as available" basis. We hereby disclaim any representations, warranties and conditions, except those expressly specified in these this T&Cincluding but not limited to any implied warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement.

 

6.  We shall not be liable for any and all loses (including loss of data) damages, costs, claims and other liabilities which may arise as a result of any delay or interruptions in, or any non-delivery, or missed delivery or failure of equipment and/or products and services due to circumstances beyond our control (including, but not limited to fire, lightning, explosion, war, terrorist attack, disorder, flood, industrial dispute, sabotage, weather conditions, or acts of local or central Government or other competent authorities).

 

7.  Although every attempt is made to ensure documents sent out are virus-free, we cannot accept responsibility for any loss, disruption or damage to client’s data or computer system as a result of information sent to a client by us.

 

8.  You agree to reimburse us for direct expenses incurred in fulfilling this T&C and the service request, including, but not limited to, photocopying, printouts, inputting, couriers, and postage. We will not incur any expenses without your express written permission.

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I.   DISPUTE RESOLUTION & JURISDICTION

1.  We aim to ensure each customer receives top quality service through our bespoke offering of a wide range of professional products and services. We recognise that quality can mean different things to others; and you are strongly advised to contact us at vicklau@vic-lau.hk if you have any concerns at any stage prior to final acceptance of the service product. We will attempt within reason to address any issues that may occur on amicable terms.

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2.  However, in the unfortunate event that dispute is still unresolved between you and us, our provision of products and services and the interpretation of this T&Care governed by the law and under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law provision or rule.  This T&C require that any dispute we may have with each other relating to this Service will be resolved by binding arbitration.  This means that you agree to surrender your right to go to the court to sue us (or be sued by us) under this contract including initiating or joining any class action lawsuit, except disputes of a minor pecuniary nature that fall under the jurisdiction of small claims tribunal.  You agree that any claim you may have arising out of or related to your relationship with us must be filed within one year after such claim arose, or else your claim is permanently barred.

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J.   INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

You retain the copyright and control over all materials given to us for enhancement.  You have total ownership of all materials created and developed upon your instruction.  All digital or printed content made available as part of the service products are our property or are licensed to us unless otherwise indicated. They are protected by copyright, trademarks, Service marks, patents or other propriety rights and laws. Our licensors and we own the copyright in the choice, co-ordination, arrangement, and enhancement of such content as well as in the content itself except the specific service product requested as stated in the invoice and any images or data you gave us. You may not modify, publish, transmit, redistribute, take part in the transfer or sale of, create derivative works of, or in any way exploit any of the content in whole or in part. You may only download such part of the content as is expressly permitted to be downloaded as specified as the service product for the use specified and for your personal use only. Except as otherwise expressly permitted by us and the copyright owner by written permission and/or under applicable copyright law, no modification, copying, redistribution, uploading, retransmission, publication, or commercial exploitation of purchased or marketed materials shall be permitted. In the event of any permitted copying, redistribution, or publication of copyrighted material, you agree not to make any change to or deletion of author attribution, trademark, legend, or copyright notice. You acknowledge that you do not acquire any ownership rights by downloading copyrighted material.

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K.  NOTICE

Any notice, demand or request required or permitted to be given under this T&C shall be in writing and shall be deemed sufficient when delivered personally or by overnight courier or sent by email, or 48 hours after being deposited in the Hong Kong Post as certified or registered mail with postage prepaid, addressed to the party to be notified at such party's address as set forth on the signature page, as subsequently modified by written notice, or if no address is specified on the signature page, at the most recent address set forth in the Company's books and records.

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L.  ENTIRE AGREEMENT & SEVERABILITY

1.  The invoice and this T&C together contains the entire agreement and understanding among the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof, and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous agreements, understandings, inducements, and conditions, express or implied, oral, or written, of any nature whatsoever with respect to the subject matter hereof. The express terms hereof control and supersede any course of performance and/or usage of the trade inconsistent with any of the terms hereof.

 

2.  If any terms and conditions herein or per the invoice is held to be illegal, invalid or unenforceable, (a) the legality, validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions hereof shall not be affected or impaired thereby and (b) you and us shall endeavor in good faith negotiations to replace the illegal, invalid or unenforceable provisions with valid provisions the economic effect of which comes as close as possible to that of the illegal, invalid or unenforceable provisions. The invalidity of a provision in a particular jurisdiction shall not invalidate or render unenforceable such provision in any other.

 

3.  The terms and conditions in thie T&C shall survive any sale of assets, merger, consolidation, or other change in your corporate structure.

 

Effective 7 May 2018

 

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